Scottish success for Franchise Week

Scottish Franchise Week 2018 has been hailed as a huge success, as yet again the UK franchise community descended on Glasgow last week to inspire and celebrate franchise success.

The highlight of the week was the business breakfast, where over 200 delegates gathered at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow. Keynote speaker Iain MacRitchie inspired the audience with his journey from being a very successful entrepreneur to setting up a charity to help disadvantaged children achieve their goals in life. For the past five years Iain has devoted himself to MCR Pathways which has placed a network of volunteer mentors into Scottish schools to help youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds to discover their talents.

The programme of events also included the launch of Franchise Opportunities which gave those new to the industry the chance to meet leading franchise companies and get expert advice under one roof. Visitors from across Scotland gathered to find out more about specific brands looking to expand in the region and to attend a series of seminars on all aspects of franchising.

Pip Wilkins, chief executive of the British Franchise Association, commented: “Scottish Franchise Week has been a huge success, providing the perfect mix of inspiration, business insight and good fun. Listening to Iain MacRitchie was truly inspirational, not only is he a highly successful businessman and entrepreneur, but he has used his skills and experience to establish a charity which helps disadvantaged youngsters get a better start in life.”

Wilkins added: “We were very happy with the response to the new Franchise Opportunities event, it was a great introduction to franchising for many budding franchisors and franchisees. For anyone looking to either start their own business, or grow an already successful business, franchising is a proven model which works.”

Suzie McCafferty, managing director of Platinum Wave, a leading independent franchise consultancy said: “As a main sponsor of Scottish Franchise Week and the Franchise Opportunities event we were delighted with the response from the Scottish public. It was great to see that people are interested in finding out more about the benefits of franchising as a route to becoming your own boss. The business breakfast was very well attended as were the information sessions led by experts in all aspects of franchising which shows there is an appetite for more information and education in this sector.”